A former mental health worker at Northampton County Prison claims she was fired for filing a workers' compensation claim after being attacked by an inmate, according to a lawsuit.

Attorney Kevin Orloski filed the suit on behalf of Catherine Fliszar, a former mental health clinician with PrimeCare Medical Inc., who was assaulted by an inmate during a mental health assessment Feb. 1, 2013, the suit says.

PrimeCare is a private company that provides on-site medical care to inmates.

According to the lawsuit, Fliszar was interviewing the inmate through a food flap on the door of his cell due to the inmate’s record of behavior. The inmate grabbed her hair, and it took three correction officers to free her. She injured her right wrist, which has required two surgeries to repair, the lawsuit says.

According to the lawsuit, Fliszar started receiving workers' compensation benefits through an insurance company to pay for medical bills and lost wages while she was unable to work.

On Feb. 18, 2013, Fliszar told her supervisors she could come back to work Feb. 25, 2013, wearing a brace, the suit says.

Fliszar reported to work on Feb. 25 and was escorted out of the prison after 90 minutes, the suit says. She was told by the on-site supervisors that she was suspended pending a PrimeCare investigation. About a week later she was fired, the lawsuit says.

According to the suit, PrimeCare officials told Fliszar the incident resulted from her inmate contact and excessive proximity to the inmate, a violation of prison policy, the suit says. According to the lawsuit, it’s standard operating procedure to suspend an employee’s security clearances when the employee is suspended by PrimeCare.

Fliszar wasn’t told by prison officials that she did anything incorrectly during the assessment upon viewing a video of the altercation, the suit says, and poor professional conduct was not mentioned by PrimeCare to Fliszar in the termination letter, the lawsuit says.

After Fliszar was fired, the workers' compensation wage loss and benefits were suspended, the lawsuit says.

Fliszar claims her unemployment compensation was held up because PrimeCare claimed Fliszar had quit and was not fired, the lawsuit says.

Fliszar was able to get a lump sum payment and continuation of medical care, the suit says.

“The defendant’s malicious intent regarding her employment is shown by identifying with both the workers' compensation claims and reported to unemployment that she had quit, so that she would not have income while she was injured through no fault of her own,” the lawsuit says.